;)
The Commentariat -- September 30, 2017
Afternoon Update:
Matthew Nussbaum & Marc Caputo of Politico: "... Donald Trump attacked the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday, writing on Twitter that she and other leaders on the storm-ravaged territory 'want everything to be done for them.' Trump's early morning broadsides came after San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz slammed the administration's response repeatedly on Friday amid growing media coverage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Her plea and others like it have led critics to liken Trump's response to that of George W. Bush in New Orleans after Katrina struck that city a decade ago. In his latest fight with an opponent few other politicians would engage -- waged from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club -- Trump dismissed Cruz as a partisan. 'The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.' Trump added that the Puerto Ricans 'want everything to be one for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Please see commentary below. I'm so pissed off, I'm in tears. Here's the presidunce, sitting around on his fat ass sending Twitterbombs as he gets ready to go golfing at his fucking club. Meanwhile, the mayor of San Juan tries frantically to save lives. And he's dissing her? Maybe she's supposed to follow Trump's lead & get out her clubs? Oh, wait, the golf courses in Puerto Rico are disaster zones. And as she herself said, "General Buchanan, a three star general has said as one of the first comments he's made about the Puerto Rico situation that he doesn't have enough troops and he doesn't have enough equipment of what he needs to get the situation under control."
*****
An Excellent Friday Afternoon News Dump. Dan Diamond, et al., of Politico: "HHS Secretary Tom Price resigned Friday in the face of multiple federal inquiries and growing criticism of his use of private and government planes for travel, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 million since May. The White House said the former seven-term Georgia congressman, 63, offered his resignation earlier in the day and that ... Donald Trump had accepted it. Price becomes the first Trump administration Cabinet secretary to step down.... Senate Democrats quickly served notice they were preparing for a potential confirmation fight over Price's successor, saying the next HHS secretary must not undermine Obamacare. Under Price, the department cut the law's enrollment period in half and massively slashed advertising and outreach for the upcoming enrollment period starting in November." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Congratulations to Politico reporters for getting rid of Price. ...
... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Tom Price, the health and human services secretary, resigned under pressure on Friday after racking up at least $400,000 in travel bills for chartered flights and undermining President Trump's promise to drain the swamp of a corrupt and entitled capital. Already in trouble with Mr. Trump for months of unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's health care program, Mr. Price failed to defuse the president's anger over his high-priced travel by agreeing to pay a portion of the cost...." ...
... Adam Kelsey of ABC News: "A senior-level source with direct knowledge of the situation told ABC News that Trump asked Price for his resignation." ...
... Andrew Restuccia, et al., of Politico: "Tom Price’s downfall was his penchant for pricey jets. But his demise was months in the making, as the president continued to lose trust in the Health and Human Services secretary who rarely attended Oval Office strategy meetings, had little sway or influence on Capitol Hill, and was associated in the president's mind with one of the administration's biggest defeats -- the failure to repeal Obamacare. Of particular notoriety: A picture of Price in March drinking at Bullfeathers, a famed Capitol Hill bar, as his colleagues tried to wrangle votes for the president's signature initiative.... Just minutes before Price's resignation became official, the secretary sent an email to HHS officials outlining next steps on the 'Reimagine HHS initiative,' a broad reorganizational effort of the department that was expected to result in staff reductions.... 'Thank you for all your dedication and support, and we look forward to being in touch soon, Price wrote.... At the White House, Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was calling Hill leadership to tell them Price was out." ...
... Scott Lemieux in LG&M: "Surprisingly for someone with his extensive history of corruption, Tom Price has turned out to be highly corrupt!... The reimbursement of a small fraction of his exorbitant and entirely unnecessary expenses is a nice touch. The next time I attend a conference I intend to charter a private jet and stay for a week in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton, and then reimburse the university for an ultra-economy ticket on Spirit Air and a room at the Hotel 6. I see no ethical problems with this plan.... In conclusion, someone once asked Hillary Clinton's State Department for diplomatic passports and didn't get them, making her the most corrupt candidate in American history." ...
... "Another Fantastic Week." Katie Rogers & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "As he traversed the world on taxpayer-funded flights, Tom Price made it a habit to write home, repeatedly sending celebratory letters back to staff members at the Department of Health and Human Services detailing his time on the road, and complimenting agency employees who 'ensure the good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.'" ...
... European Vacation, All Expenses Paid. Jack Gillum, et al., of the Washington Post: "Nearly three days into a trip to Europe this past July, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin had attended a Wimbledon championship tennis match, toured Westminster Abbey and taken a cruise on the Thames.... Shulkin was in Europe for meetings with Danish and British officials about veterans' health issues.... He and his wife spent about half their time sightseeing, including shopping and touring historic sites, according to an itinerary obtained by The Washington Post and confirmed by a U.S. official familiar with their activities. The federal government paid for the flights for Shulkin and his wife, Merle Bari, and provided a per-diem reimbursement for their meals and other expenses, VA said Friday. An agency spokesman did not respond to questions about why Bari qualified for the reimbursements and taxpayer-funded airfare, other than to say she was traveling on 'approved invitational orders' and had 'temporary duty' travel expenses.... Shulkin's immediate predecessor, Robert McDonald, took no foreign work trips.... Shulkin's six-person traveling party included his acting undersecretary of health and her husband, Shulkin's chief of staff and another aide, the itinerary says. They were accompanied by a security detail of as many as six people. Shulkin's trip came less than two weeks after he signed a memo instructing top VA staffers to determine whether 'employee travel in their organization is essential.'... Shulkin and his entourage visited four palaces -- Copenhagen's Christiansborg and Amalienborg and London's Buckingham and Kensington -- and included times for walks, self-guided tours and photo stops. On one calendar item, a canal tour of Copenhagen, the itinerary specifically noted the group 'Will See Little Mermaid Statue.'..." ...
... Dear Dave & Merle, Welcome home. Could you please share your travel videos & photos with Medlar & me? I'm sure they're excellent. Merle, we hope your temporary duties were not too arduous. Best, Bea
Tax-"Reforming" Our Way to a Permanent Oligarchy. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Republican tax plan promoted by President Trump this week as a middle-class tax cut would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans and businesses, according to an analysis released on Friday by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The report, which is the first detailed assessment of the plan's financial impact, found that the average tax bill for all income groups would decline by $1,600, or 2.1 percent, in 2018. The biggest decrease would go to those with incomes above $730,000, who would see their after-tax incomes rise by an average of 8.5 percent, or about $129,000. Those in the middle quintile -- with incomes averaging $66,960 -- would see their after-tax income rise by 1.2 percent or about $660.... The plan would provide enormous benefits to corporate America, with a $2.6 billion cut in business taxes. Individual income tax revenue would actually increase by $470 billion, largely as a result of changes in personal deductions and exemptions as well as an increase in the bottom tax rate to 12 percent from 10 percent.... The loss of deductions would hit the upper middle class the most, and more than a third of the taxpayers who earn $150,000 to $300,000 could see their taxes go up next year." ...
... Tax Policy Center: "The Tax Policy Center has produced preliminary estimates of the potential impact proposals included in the 'Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code.' We find they would reduce federal revenue by $2.4 trillion over ten years and $3.2 trillion over the second decade (not including any dynamic feedback). In 2018, all income groups would see their average taxes fall, but some taxpayers in each group would face tax increases. Those with the very highest incomes would receive the biggest tax cuts. The tax cuts are smaller as a percentage of income in 2027, and taxpayers in the 80th to 95th income percentiles would, on average, experience a tax increase." ...
The wealthy are not getting a tax cut under our plan. -- Gary Cohn, Sept. 28
We think there will be $2 trillion of growth. So we think this tax plan will cut down the deficits by a trillion dollars. -- Steve Mnuchin, Sept. 28
Though the details of the tax plan are sparse, both Cohn and Mnuchin made statements that are simply false. Of course the wealthy will do well under the tax cut, even if certain deductions are eliminated, and it's silly to pretend otherwise. And it's a fantasy to claim that the tax cut will pay for itself -- and even reduce the deficit -- especially in an economy that already has low unemployment and a booming stock market. -- Glenn Kessler, Sept. 29
F U CBO. Addy Baird of ThinkProgress: "A provision tucked into the Senate budget resolution released Friday could be a blow to transparency in the legislature. The resolution calls for repealing a requirement that a vote on legislation cannot be held unless the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has scored the legislation and made their report public for at least 28 hours.... That rule applies to reported legislation coming from a committee, an attempt to make the effects of the bill available to the public before a vote. But the 80th page of Friday's budget resolution for fiscal year 2018 calls for repealing that point of order." --safari ...
... Gail Collins: "The selflessness in this administration never ends." She might have guessed Collins is a bit insincere here, but clearly she has a special place in her heart for Gary Cohn. Who thinks you & I can buy a nice family car for the $1,000 windfall they'll get with Trump's Big Tax Break. Mrs. McC: Two problems: you haven't been able to buy a nice family car for $1,000 for about 100 years, & your tax break is likely to be somewhere between $700 & less than nothing unless you're fairly wealthy.
The Lost Weekend. Abby Phillip, et al., of the Washington Post: "... for four days ... as storm-ravaged Puerto Rico struggled for food and water amid the darkness of power outages -- Trump and his top aides effectively went dark themselves. Trump jetted to New Jersey that Thursday night to spend a long weekend at his private golf club there, save for a quick trip to Alabama for a political rally. Neither Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis.... He spent much of his time over those four days fixated on his escalating public feuds with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with fellow Republicans in Congress and with the National Football League over protests during the national anthem.... Trump's public schedule Monday was devoid of any meetings related to the storm, but he was becoming frustrated by the coverage he was seeing on TV, [a] senior official said.... Trump's rosy assessment of the federal response has ... contrasted sharply with the comments of federal officials on the ground." ...
... Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Defense Department has not sent enough troops and vehicles to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico but will soon send more, according to the three-star general newly in charge of coordinating the military response. Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month. 'We're certainly bringing in more [troops],' Buchanan said on CNN's 'New Day.' 'For example, on the military side, we're bringing in both Air Force, Navy, and Army medical capabilities in addition to aircraft, more helicopters.... [But] it's not enough, and we're bringing more in.'" ...
... Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "... nine days after Hurricane Maria..., less than half of the 8,000 members of the Puerto Rico National Guard are on duty. Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. officer overseeing military operations on the island, attributed this to a combination of factors. Many personnel are dealing with the devastation in their own lives, he said, and some are providing help in their full-time jobs as police, firefighters or other first responders rather than through the Guard."...
...Amanda Holpuch & Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "The mayor of San Juan lashed out at Trump administration on Friday, decrying its relief effort in the wake of hurricanes Jose and Maria and saying if it doesn't solve the logistics 'what we we are going to see is something close to a genocide' ... 'We are dying here,' Carmen Yulín Cruz said at a press conference, speaking with tears in her eyes.... Cruz appealed directly to the president, saying: 'So, Mr Trump, I am begging you to take charge and save lives. After all, that is one of the founding principles of the United States of ... America. If not, the world will see how we are treated not as second-class citizens but as animals that can be disposed of. Enough is enough."--safari...
...Devastating takedown of the Trump administration. --safari
...safari: If Trump's staffers ever dare to show him this press conference of Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of San Juan, I'm pretty sure he'll be building up some serious back sweat fuming about this uppity Hispanic woman stomping on his false messaging campaign. He'll make her pay, because that's our president*...
...UPDATE. Politico: "President Donald Trump attacked the mayor of San Juan in early morning tweets Saturday, citing "poor leadership" and saying she 'has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.'...[H]e wrote: '...Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They....''...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.'" --safari
Josh Meyer of Politico: "The National Security Agency warned senior White House officials in classified briefings that improper use of personal cellphones and email could make them vulnerable to espionage by Russia, China, Iran and other adversaries, according to officials familiar with the briefings. The briefings came soon after ... Donald Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20, and before some top aides, including senior adviser Jared Kushner, used their personal email and phones to conduct official White House business.... The officials said White House aides also were told they should assume that foreign cyberspies had already penetrated their personal email systems to some degree and used that access to vacuum up everything not just on their own computers and phones but those of their contacts.... 'Jared is probably one of the top five or 10 targets in the U.S. government because of his access to the president and because of the portfolios he's been given,' said Richard Clarke, a former top cybersecurity advisor to three presidents. 'It's a pretty safe bet that his personal devices have been compromised by foreign intelligence services. And therefore there is some risk that meetings he attends are compromised too.'"
Daniella Diaz & Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "The New York State Board of Elections acknowledged in a news report published Thursday that ... Jared Kushner registered to vote as a male despite being listed as a woman previously. Board of Elections executive director Michael Ryan confirmed to The New York Daily News that the board made the error, not Kushner." Mrs. McC: Meant to link this yesterday but was so disappointed by Jared's vindication, I put it out of my mind.
Isaac Arnsdorf of ProPublica: "The special prosecutor investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election has subpoenaed an associate of Gen. Michael Flynn's Turkish lobbying client. The subpoena, a copy of which was obtained by ProPublica, ordered Sezgin Baran Korkmaz to testify before a grand jury in Washington on Sept. 22.... There are no indications of direct links between Korkmaz and Flynn, who briefly served as Donald Trump's national security adviser. But Korkmaz, 39, is a close ally of Ekim Alptekin, the 40-year-old Turkish businessman who hired Flynn to lobby for Turkish interests shortly before the election.... Investigators are interested in the ultimate source of the money that Alptekin's company paid to Flynn's firm...."
An Anti-Trump. Jamiles Lartey of the Guardian: "The superintendent of the US air force academy in Colorado Springs addressed a direct message to those who left racist graffiti at the academy's preparatory school earlier this week. 'If you can't treat someone from another race or a different color skin with dignity and respect then you need to get out,' said Lt Gen Jay Silveria, before encouraging the assembled academy of more than 4,000 cadets and staff to take out their phones and record him saying it again." ...
Chris Mooney & Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "Energy Secretary Rick Perry took sweeping steps on Friday to buttress a pair of financially-strapped nuclear plants under construction and redefine how coal and nuclear plants are compensated for the electricity they provide -- a move that, if agreed to by independent federal energy regulators, could tilt some of the nation's complex power markets away from renewables and natural gas."...
...Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "Energy Secretary Rick Perry has ignored the findings of his own grid study and proposed a new federal rule that would effectively force Americans to buy dirtier, more expensive power...In the simplest terms, Perry wants to stop cheaper, cleaner renewables like solar and wind from shutting down more dirtier and more expensive plants like coal (and nuclear)...Perry's own grid study, the one he asked DOE staff for back in April, totally undercuts any rationale for such a move. That study concluded that renewables have not harmed grid reliability and that myriad strategies exist to allow deep penetration of renewables." --safari
Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post: "People are living longer, more expensive lives, often without much of a safety net. As a result, record numbers of Americans older than 65 are working -- now nearly 1 in 5. That proportion has risen steadily over the past decade, and at a far faster rate than any other age group.... While some work by choice rather than need, millions of others are entering their golden years with alarmingly fragile finances. Fundamental changes in the U.S. retirement system have shifted responsibility for saving from the employer to the worker, exacerbating the nation's rich-poor divide. Two recent recessions devastated personal savings. And at a time when 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day, Social Security benefits have lost about a third of their purchasing power since 2000." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: See also MAG's comment in yesterday's thread. The WashPo story profiles two elderly couples in dire straits. Not one of them voted for Hillary Clinton. Why has Social Security lost 1/3 of its purchasing power in 17 years. What about COLA? ...
... Answer. Mary Beth Franklin of Investment News (June 2017): "Senior advocacy groups, including The Senior Citizens League, argue that when it comes to measuring inflation experienced by retired and disabled individuals, the government is using the wrong index. The CPI-W gives less weight to medical care and housing costs -- two categories that have experienced rapid inflation and represent a larger portion of the budgets of older households than younger workers. The study examined the increase in costs of 39 key items that represent typical costs of elderly households between 2000 and January 2017. The study used the same weightings that the government uses in calculating the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), an alternative measure of inflation that senior advocacy groups say is more representational of retirees' spending patterns."
Emily Langer of the Washington Post: "Herbert W. Kalmbach, a personal attorney to President Richard M. Nixon who was drawn into the Watergate scandal as an alleged bagman and later went to prison for illegal political fundraising that included the peddling of an ambassadorship, died Sept. 15 in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 95."
Sports Report
Reuters: "Demonstrators unfurled a banner that read 'Stop Killing Us' at a Major League baseball game on Friday in St. Louis, where they were protesting the acquittal of a white former police officer who was accused of murdering a black man, local media reported." --safari...
...On the co-opting of the NFL protests. No words minced here. --safari
...Colin Who? Ameer Hasan Loggins & Christopher Petrell in the Guardian : "Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated used Twitter to publicize its newest magazine cover. Against the American flag, a bricolage of professional athletes, coaches and owners lock arms around the tidy and seemingly uncontroversial phrase 'A NATION DIVIDED, SPORTS UNITED.' It was a clear response to Trump's stinging attack on the NFL...The digitally altered image creates a patchwork of athletes...[Colin] Kaepernick's inexplicable absence from Sports Illustrated's cover renders the image laughably incoherent. In many ways, it also creates a cultural vacuum for the public to import its calls for civility, respect and patriotism into a flimsy narrative of 'unity'. The political incoherence, however, extends beyond the magazine's omission of Kaepernick." --safari...
... Ben Collins of The Daily Beast: "Kremlin-controlled social media accounts posing as black activist groups shared memes supporting Colin Kaepernick and other athletes protesting police shootings of black Americans by kneeling during the national anthem as early as last summer...Polling shows Americans are split on the protests, with 43 percent saying it's the right thing to do, and 49 percent saying that kneeling during the anthem is the wrong way to express their opinions. The Russian propaganda group backed kneeling during national anthems as far back as June of last year." --safari
News Lede
New York Times: "Monty Hall, the genial host and co-creator of 'Let's Make a Deal,' the game show on which contestants in outlandish costumes shriek and leap at the chance to see if they will win the big prize or the booby prize behind door No. 3, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday. He was 96."
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Reader Comments (12)
So pompous, insider trading, health insurance for poors hating, con man spendthrift Tom Price is gone, eh? Trump was getting pissed that Price's continued presence was making him look less and less like a serious, responsible, competent leader. He probably thinks this departure fixes that.
Yeah, okay. He's presidential hall of fame material now. For sure.
Well, at least we're shut of one more Trump grifter. Only about 1,000 left to go. This Shulkin guy seems like a good next choice for his very own bus ticket out of town. And not to fucking Wimbledon neither. Another Trumpy pickpocket. Price and Shulkin are perfect examples of what the little king means when he talks about "the best people". Might as well have hired Fagin and Bill Sikes.
Oh, wait. He did.
Price Resigns After Drawing Ire for Private Jet Flights
How about 'Trump resigns after using millions of public money to play golf'.' Oh, I forgot, rules don't apply to the Trump.
Trump's latest attack on Puerto Rico's mayor bodes very badly for their recovery effort. His latest tweet just showed his racist hand. Trump is going to nickle-and-dime this recovery effort, berating them for mismanagement and crying about bills due all the while. And he'll get away with it, lying profusely about "fake news", and our relationship with Puerto Rico will be forever tainted by Grampy Racist in the White House.
The tweet: "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They....''...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.'"
Firstly, he attacks not only the mayor, but also "others in Puerto Rico", too. So much incompetence over there, must be the big ocean water. And notice the folding in of the casual racism, "not able to get their workers to help/want everything to be done for them". Where have we heard these arguments before?...Just like those darkies in the hellish "inner cities" sitting in their hammocks looking for "free stuff", or those "illegals" fleecing our public treasuries while putting nothing into the system, these Spaniard-speakin' brown folks just don't have the smarts (and looks!) of white people who are categorically entrepreneurial and responsible citizens. The Puerto Ricans are all just so content sitting around they can't even lend a hand to their community, as local communities should supplant any federal assistance if they actually took responsibility for their own plight.
The president* is actively ridiculing his own citizens, right as they are in the most dire need of federal assistance, some seemingly in life or death situations. As AK mentioned the other day, if there were ever a larger asshole on this planet...
I know we shouldn't promote violence on anyone, but I'm sorta kind of hoping when he goes to Puerto Rico to brag about his hand size and the tiny gloves, that he gives a press conference, and someone replays the George Bush in Iraq playbook, and tosses their shoe right into Trump's bloated, orange dome. Maybe it'll knock some sense into his degrading, senile brain.
Perhaps someone could drag Mr. President* off the golf course, sit him down, give him a cold coke, and have him watch three videos: First the one from Carmen Yulin Cruz who is begging him for help; next Jay Silvera on how to conduct oneself as a decent human being; and last Nick Wright who gives him a history lesson along with how to conduct oneself as a decent human being. Although three video's in a row might be too much for him to handle, better to stagger them in between those balls in one. I have one more I'd like him to watch just before bedtime:
Rilev Temple tells us why he broke the rule for survival for black Americans:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/broke-rule-survival-black-americans/
When I heard that Price was toast I almost felt giddy, I was so happy. If we could only rid ourselves of the other swamp creatures that are also desecrating the agencies they head it will be like major blessings. Perhaps congress might want to think how shoddy their vetting process was or in fairness listen to those who were crying foul from the beginning.
And for those that think they can still sing "Fly me to the moon..." with Frankie, they best think again. Flying free is fleeting––see all those castles on your own time.
And I have a question: With our modern technical ability why would one have to travel to London, lets say, for a meeting or conference?
@safari: Yeah–-just read Trump's tweets: Christ! the man is so tone deaf it's as if he's been programmed by one of those Manchurians and simply can't help himself. As far as a shoe falling–-flinging–-his way, I am hoping for more dire dealings like some Puerto Ricans who have been without food or water scream at him, cry, tell him how furious they are. What impact would that have? How could he turn that into something positive for himself? Just reading his tweets to mayor Cruz we can pretty well figure how he'll come out on top.
In my wildest imaginings, Trump finally goes to Puerto Rico and while thanking them for the bigly turnout (probably held at the San Juan airport so that he can depart as quickly as his brief appearance while mentioning he's so appreciative of the "...almost as huge number as his inauguration crowd," —that those gathered there turn their collective back on him and take a knee.
...or everyone there throws a shoe!
President* Can't Do
When walls are caving in and the poop is flying through the fan, I'm reminded of that old saw about every crisis being an opportunity. Take the situation in Puerto Rico.
If I were president, and I had been bragging for years about my abilities--world class, mind you; the best ever!--to get things done against great odds, I'd look at this as not only a chance to help some American citizens, but to show my stuff. So, okay, I'm not much on legislative finagling, I have zero experience in foreign affairs, the only thing I know about tax reform is how to help myself. But building? Getting things done in the brick and mortar world? That I can do. I'm the best at that.
At least that's what I've been saying for years. I promised to build the greatest wall the world has ever seen, and do it in record time and under budget. But oh-no! Those meanies in congress won't give me the money I need.
But here is Puerto Rico. A perfect opportunity to show his mettle, be the take charge guy he claims to be, get the power restored, clear the roads, bring in food, water, medical supplies, build a tent city to house the homeless temporarily, turn this crisis into a golden opportunity. Be President Can Do.
So what does Mr. Big do? He turns a big crisis into a bigger crisis. He whines that people are being nasty to him, that Puerto Ricans want everything handed to them, that they're not being appropriately "complimentary" to him.
In other words, zip. Zero. Nada.
He whines like a baby and insults American citizens he pledged to help when he took office.
Such an inconvenience. He thought he pledged to help himself.
So rather than back up all that big talk about what a great man he is and how no one gets it done like the Donald, he hies his low energy carcass off to play golf.
And he demonstrates, once and for all what a sad, weak, pretentious liar he really is. In the end he really can't do much at all, can he? Nothing good, that is.
Is this merely a coincidence or does Bill Maher (or his writers) read RC?
Yesteday, Ak wrote that "Tom Price ... has his tongue so far up Trump's ass, he can tell what he had for breakfast."
Following this up with "Okay. I was wrong. He can tell what Trump had for dinner last night."
Last night Bill Maher mentioned during New Rule that "[Paul Manafort] is so far up Putin's ass that he can taste his lunch."
It's at the 4:00 mark (and worth watching to the end.)
Ak, did Bill steal your line or do you write for him on the side?
Unwashed,
Hey, if Bill Maher wants to hire me as a writer, I'm all for it. And if he or his writers sneak a peek at RC now and then, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. We have a lot of very smart people out here.
And by stating that Manafort had, bodily, entered Putin's rectal cavity, as opposed to my formulation of Price's tongue performing a similar exploration on Trump, I'm guessing he's suggesting that Putie is a bigger asshole than Trumpy. I suppose one could make that argument, although I'd prefer not to be standing on that proctological escarpment. Those plates move fast. One day Trump is up, next day it's Putin.
And now, if Maher steals that fairly recondite escarpment joke, we'll know the truth!
I am with you, Marie. 45 is a POS, pure and simple. He is unfit to live and breathe. I am so angry-- it is hard to describe the level of hatred I feel for this vile stench of a man. I want him hanged and I don't support cap punishment--
I confess that I spent a bit of yesterday afternoon watching clips of Barack and Michelle on YouTube. Something inside of me yearned for images of compassionate competence.
@NiskyGuy: For nostalgic pix of the Obamas, see petesouza on Instagram.